Current Genomics - Volume 3, Issue 4, 2002

Chromosomal translocations entail the generation of gene fusions in solid mesenchymal tumors. Despite the successful identification of these specific and consistent genetic events, the nature of the intimate association between the gene fusion and the resulting phenotype is pending to understand. Herein these studies are reviewed using FUS-CHOP as a model to illustrate how the manipulation of their loci in the mouse Read More

Understanding the molecular events that commit to the cell cycle has important implications for cancer. Available evidence, mostly derived from human tumors, has revealed frequent alterations in genes involved in the control of the G1 restriction point and the progression from G1 to S phase. Many of the players that participate in these events have been characterized at the biochemical level. They include, among othe Read More

The p53 pathway is inactivated in essentially all human tumors p53 is lost or mutated in over 50% of all human cancers, and the majority of the remaining tumors carry mutations in other components of the pathway. It appears that the main biological function of p53 in vivo is to suppress tumorigenesis, because mice with homozygous deletion of the p53 gene are normal, but develop multiple tumors at an early age. p53 pl Read More

In Drosophila, Sprouty was originally identified as an antagonist of tracheal branching and shown to be a general inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinase. Recently, four mammalian homologues have been isolated. All Sprouty proteins exhibit a unique, highly conserved, cysteinerich C-terminal domain. Genetic and biochemical data indicate that Sprouty proteins antagonize receptor tyrosine kinase signaling through specific inhib Read More

The human ras genes (Nras, Hras, and Kras) code for closely related small GTPases possessing a molecular size of about 21 KDa. Ras proteins operate as molecular switches in signal transduction cascades controlling cell proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis. As for all G proteins, the function of the ras gene protein products is controlled through a regulated GDP / GTP cycle. Each of the three human ras proto-oncogen Read More

Hematopoiesis is a complex process during which hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) proliferate and differentiate to constitute both the myeloid and lymphoid branches of the hematopoietic system. Hematopoiesis occurs in successive organs beginning in the yolk sac and aorto-gonads-mesonephros (AGM) region, then migrate from the AGM region to the fetal liver and subsequently to the bone marrow. Hematopoiesis is Read More

The epidermis is a model particularly well suited to the study of cell proliferation and differentiation, and of alterations of these processes such as carcinogenesis. Compartmentalization exists in this tissue, with the proliferative, less differentiated cells confined to the basal layer and the terminally differentiating, non-proliferative cells moving upwards to the surface through distinct layers. Different genes are expressed th Read More

More than 90% of malignant tumors arising in humans are of epithelial origin. The loss of epithelial morphology and the acquisition of mesenchymal characteristics are important early events in tumor progression. This type of morphological transformation is termed an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. These transitions occur normally during embryonic development, as well as pathologically during tumor progression. This revi Read More

The development, refinement and increasingly widespread use of high-density DNA microarrays have been important responses to the explosion of sequence information produced by genome science. Principal among the application of microarrays is the large-scale analysis of gene expression, often referred to as expression profiling. The power of this application lies in its ability to determine the expression patterns of thousand Read More

Human cancers are consequence of mutations in genes that encode proteins involved in the control of cellular homeostasis. Most human cancers are sporadic and gene mutations may be induced by a large number of environmental agents. Cell response to carcinogens is regulated by genes involved in liver metabolism. Variability in liver metabolism has been associated with polymorphisms in genes that code for phase I and Read More